cant find a doc

[Pontiacgp]

my name is cody,ive been diagnosed with severe scoliosis,my disc has collapsed,my hip is elevated higher on one side than the other,its causing pain in my joint down my leg to my ankle,the doctor said my ribs are twisted which causes the rib pain and my muscles and slightly pinched or something like that which is causing muscle spasms,im on a muscle relaxer that dosent do much,i finally got on disability due to it all,the thing is im on ga medicaid and cant find a spine doctor around me,my zip code is 30711 if anybody knows a place that would help me,thanks

[jrnyc]

if you are on disability, are you not on Medicare, which
would give you medical care....???
not the greatest in the world for choosing surgeon maybe,
but it is there for help...
????????????????
how severe is your severe...?
asking cause i have hip pain too...bursitis in hip caused by the scoliosis....got first shot for it Friday and it helped....very pleased about that...

jess

[leahdragonfly]

Hi,

here is a search from the Scoliosis Research Society…I don't know anything about any of them but maybe it's a start. Am I correct that you are in Georgia? Do you have a Care Coordinator who might be able to help you?

Results (Page 1 of 1)
Dheera Ananthakrishnan, MD, MSE
Emory University
59 Executive Park South
Suite 3000
Altanta, GA 30329 United States
Phone: (404) 778-6306
Fax: (404) 778-6376
Specialties: Adolescent, Adult Scoliosis, Aging Spine, Degenerative Conditions

Justin V. Bundy, MD
Augusta Orthopedics & Sports Specialists
3650 J Dewey Circle
Augusta, GA 30909 United States
Phone: 706-863-9797
Specialties: Adolescent, Adult Scoliosis, Aging Spine, Degenerative Conditions

John Kenneth Burkus, MD
Hughston Orthopaedic Clinic
PO Box 9517
6262 Veterans Pkwy
Columbus, GA 31908-9517
Phone: (706) 494-3305
Fax: (706) 494-3105
Specialties: Adolescent, Adult Scoliosis, Aging Spine, Degenerative Conditions, Juvenile/Infantile

William C. Horton, MD
Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center
59 Executive Park South, Suite 3000
Atlanta, GA 30329
Phone: (404) 778-7115
Fax: (404) 778-6378
Specialties: Adolescent, Adult Scoliosis, Aging Spine, Degenerative Conditions, Juvenile/Infantile

Stephen B. James, DO
1100 Northside Forsyth Drive
Suite #340
Cumming, GA 30041
Phone: (770) 886-8111
Fax: 678-341-6788
Specialties: Adolescent, Adult Scoliosis, Aging Spine, Degenerative Conditions

James R. Malcolm, MD
Pinnacle Orthopaedics
300 Tower Road, Suite 200
Marietta, GA 30060
Phone: (770) 427-5717
Fax: (770) 429-6503
Http://Pinnacle-Ortho.Com
Specialties: Adolescent, Adult Scoliosis, Aging Spine, Degenerative Conditions

[Pontiacgp]

leahdragon fly thanks for the help and yes im in ga,and jrnyc mine does cause hip pain,it feels like my joint is rubbing together,also my knee hurts down to my ankle,all on the right side,is bascially ribs down to my ankle,i went to a orthopedic doc for my ankle and she said 99% of xrays she looks at people say they were diagnosed with scoliosis but actually didnt have it,she said its overly diagnosed but with me she said its severe,its one of the worst ones she has looked at,she says i need to see a spine specialist soon,im having spasms were my curve is,idk what they can do to fix my hip,back,and ribs,and nope they put me on medicaid and leahdragonfly ive never heard of a care cooridnator,how do i find out if i have one?

[jrnyc]

what degree curve do you have....?
are you curved top of spine, bottom, both....?

i hope you find a surgeon who takes your medicaid...
having govt coverage is not the best, sometimes it is all
one can manage...

i got relief from hip pain from steroid shot...
i stopped shots for 2 years after it caused a reaction where
cortisol dropped to zero and i was exhausted, like mono...
that was caused by too much steroid to spine...i got alot of shots
for back pain....too many...

i hope you can find help with pain while you search for doctor...
i tolerated my hip pain for almost a year now before i got
shot in desperation....now i need my blood checked for cortisol
reading in a few weeks...

good luck
jess

[Pontiacgp]

jrnyc she said they didnt have a way to tell me my angle cause they dont specialize in spines,she said the nearest doctor is easy a hr and a half away,i ask her how is a person suppose to beable to run that far alot,on latest report it said lower lumbar,i guess it means my lower back,one doctor i seen for my disability review said he dosent recomend it and a brace wouldnt help so what do i do,im 20 how can somebody live like this,i have to either stay in bed or a recliner now as it is

[jrnyc]

yes....you need to get help
why not look for more than one doctor at a time...??
a pain doctor might be able to help you with the pain...
that way you might be able to get up out of bed or off
recliner....
i sympathize with you....i have lived with this most of my
life, as have many....and i am waaay older than you are.
not saying you shouldn't treat it and investigate surgery,
but suggest address the pain right now....
pain management doctors can help.
and a scoliosis specialist can measure your curve(s) and tell
you exactly what you are dealing with.

can you post your X rays here???

jess

[Pontiacgp]

Oh I am looking for pain doctor,I haven't had Medicaid to long,it went into effect on the 1st,I can save the X-rays off my cd,they are from may of last year,I've had some say it ain't bad,but they don't know how it is,can I post links from photobucket on here?,I guess they don't want to give any pain meds to a person so young,they gave me inflammatory pills that are called mobic which dosent help

[jrnyc]

how old are you...?
are you under 18? under 21?
do you need some kind of parental consent...?

pain is pain...young people feel it too...
they tend to bounce back from surgery faster than older
people...but they certainly feel pain like anyone else...

no doctor wants any patient becoming dependent on pain meds...
but, in my lay person experience, a good pain doc will treat the symptoms, try to address cause, while you can look for surgeon at same time...
i have had many different kinds of pain treatment....from shots,
to pills, to patches, to nerve ablation, etc....with differing success.

jess

[Pontiacgp]

Some forums don't allow links to other website so I was asking before I did it,I'm 20

[Pontiacgp]

I'll post them here soon

[jrnyc]

i think you need a pain doctor who knows his business...
of course they do not want to see a 20 year old become
dependent on pain meds...
but no one wants to leave you in pain so you cannot
get off the couch and function...at least, in my experience
with pain doctors they wouldn't....now is when you are
supposed to be doing so many things in your life...
not be unable to move or enjoy or pursue your dreams.

i am wondering if you have ever had a chance to discuss
treatment options with a doctor??...there are shots a doctor
might try, if he/she thought it could help you....not just pain
meds...
the good news about your age is that should you have surgery,
your age might help you recover and heal faster....

jess

[Pontiacgp]

i did see a doctor in eith 07 or 08 but lost my insurance and couldnt go back,i didnt realize how bad it was until 2010 when i went to work at the dollar general and after a few days had to quit,it feels like pressure is pushed down on my spine while standing,could my spine be pressing on nerves and making my legs semi numb?,im googling and trying to find a pain managment doctor,i toss and turn all night,i go from right side to back to left side and back again,i cant lift heavy stuff,it hurts holding my 25lb nephew and hes alway wanting me to and i cant cause of it,i wish they made a brace to keep my torso pulled up to keep the pressure off of it,here are my xrays http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/...ps244099f6.png http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/...pseb0a4ec9.png im not to sure if it could have got worse since then

[jrnyc]

i cannot tell from your Xray how big the curve is...
you might want to ask Linda Racine, the moderator of this forum, what she thinks about your X rays....she works in a scoli unit
of a big hospital in CA...you can send her a private message if you
wish to...

in my own experience, numbness usually means nerves are involved...that is what i know as a patient, and was told by doctors when i had numbness years ago from Lyme disease. i am used to living with a curve that is now 70 degrees on the bottom and 42 on top....i did well until i herniated discs in my lower spine....until then, i held down a full time job in Manhattan, went to school part time nites and wkends....and went to the gym. since herniating discs it was downhill all the way for me...

you have youth on your side...which may not sound like alot, but it will be if you need the strength to recover from future surgery....
for now, i would concentrate on finding doctors who take the medical insurance you have....and getting out of pain might be a first concern....
i do know injections work better for nerve related pain than for structural related pain....that was told to me by two top scoli doctors...they thought my pain was more structurally related than nerve related, and i didn't get as much help from shots as they hoped....until i got a shot in left hip last week...it worked like a charm to kill the pain in left hip that i lived with for almost a year!

jess

[jrnyc]

do you have bad discs at age 20??
i hope not....
???

jess